Lakes & mountains, spectacular scenery with an easy short walk

Your morning starts with a scenic drive through typical Lakeland countryside to "one of the most beautiful places in the Lake District", Tarn Hows. You would never guess that the scene before you is a man-made, stunning beauty spot. In Victorian times, a beck was dammed, creating the tarn you see today, while the Hows are the surrounding small, wooded hills. In 1929, Beatrix Potter bought this area as part of the vast Monk Coniston Estate and later left it all to the National Trust so that the farms and breathtaking countryside were preserved. You will have an opportunity to stop here and admire the view looking over to the Coniston hills and Langdale Pikes, which form the backdrop to this spectacular corner of the Lake District.

As we descend back down from the Tarn, the surrounding countryside opens up before us, dropping away from the road down the rolling hills towards the Yewdale Valley. Plunging into a wooded, mossy dell, we emerge back onto the main road at Monk Coniston sitting on the northern tip of Coniston Water. Pausing here, at the very edge of the lake for you to soak up the atmosphere and tranquillity, we then meander along the shore, climbing up to beautiful Brantwood, the former home of John Ruskin, the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, as well as an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist.

We linger at Brantwood long enough for you to take in the panoramic vista of the lake, overshadowed by Coniston Old Man opposite. Brantwood is the perfect spot for photos across the lake. Down below the house, a path snakes through a garden to the lakeshore jetty where you can walk out onto the lake for more amazing photo opportunities.